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Is Kid Rock breaking up with Detroit?
Sounding exasperated by backlash toward him in “that town,” the homegrown rap-rocker said Wednesday it’s wise to “go where you’re celebrated, not tolerated.”
Rock — who grew up in Romeo, cut his teeth on the Detroit rap scene and made the city a staple of his public image — has primarily resided in Nashville in recent years. He sold his riverside Detroit mansion this summer, and while he still owns a house in Clarkston, he recently dismantled his longtime recording studio on the property.
In a morning statement posted to Facebook (see below), Kid Rock confirmed that he won’t renew his licensing deal for his Made in Detroit restaurant at Little Caesars Arena, following an earlier announcement by Ilitch Holdings. The restaurant has operated there since the arena opened in 2017.
Protesters with Michigan National Action Network (NAN) are planning a noon media event outside the venue, days after video emerged of Rock unleashing a graphic tirade about Oprah Winfrey.
In his Wednesday statement, Rock cited his record of donations to Detroit causes through the years.
“I guess the millions of dollars I pumped into that town was not enough,” he wrote. “I will let the NAN network and others go ahead and take the wheel now. Good luck.”
Also today: Kid Rock’s Little Caesars Arena restaurant to close; decision follows controversial video
Kid Rock also called out the Rev. Al Sharpton, who founded NAN in 1991.
“Hey Al Sharpton, you or your cronies will never beat me you tax evading, race baiting clown!” he wrote.
Rock has been a longtime target of NAN, which has attacked his past use of the Confederate flag and other controversial behavior: The group successfully lobbied General Motors to cut ties with Rock in 2015, and led demonstrations at LCA two years later when the arena opened with six Kid Rock concerts.
Rock shot back in his Wednesday statement:
“I may be guilty of being a loud mouth jerk at times, but trying to label me racist is a joke, and actually only does a disservice to the black community, which I have supported my entire life, by trying to alienate myself and many others.”
Kid Rock before the fame:The definitive Detroit oral history
Kid Rock tightly aligned himself with Detroit imagery early in his career, frequently shouting out the city in lyrics and onstage, including a signature line from 2000’s “American Bad Ass”: “Got the rock from Detroit / The soul from Motown.”
He has owned the Made in Detroit apparel and merchandise line since 2005, after years of sporting the company’s gear in music videos and elsewhere.
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
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